The Netflix Cancellation Sensation
“Annie with an E” is among the Netflix shows that have been cancelled. PHOTO BY Alexa Palencia, Serrano Alani, and Rori Willong
February 17, 2023
If you’re currently mourning the cancellation of one of your favorite Netflix series, you are not alone. In just the past year, the streaming giant has canceled many of its “Netflix Originals” including “1899”, “Warrior Nun”, “Inside Job”, and “First Kill”. This comes right after the service reportedly lost subscribers for the first time in its history, in Apr. of 2022.
While cancellation is par for the course of streaming services, the sheer number of canceled shows on the platform has many viewers upset.
“A lot of shows I like have gotten canceled like “I Am Not Okay with This” and “Everything Sucks,” says PEACE senior Malaika Phiri.
“They canceled “Inside Job,” says SEGA senior Mannuel Franco. “I’m still mad about that.”
This, combined with Netflix increasing the cost for all subscription tiers, has caused controversy amongst users with some going as far as to cancel their subscriptions.
Many have taken to social media to voice their concerns.
On Jan. 18 “Netflix correct your mistake” took over the Twitter Trending Tab after a 2017 tweet saying, “We don’t like leaving a story unfinished” from the official Netflix account resurfaced.
“What’s the point of watching Netflix original series if they’re canceling them after the first season?” wrote Twitter user @Reimaku95. As of Jan. 18, their tweet has garnered over 7,000 likes and 180 retweets.
Forbes analysts have been referring to this cycle of canceling original programs as a “death spiral.”
“It’s annoying. I can see a lot of people canceling their subscriptions if Netflix keeps doing this,” says Phiri.
Are these cancellations signs of bad news for the service? Or a new type of business as usual for the streaming world?
Dahlia Hardy • Mar 2, 2023 at 8:40 am
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” This article covered a topic that I am very familiar with myself, having had many of the shows I enjoy canceled by Netflix after only a short run. While many people are aware of this issue, there does not seem to be any sign of a solution in the near future. I believe that Netflix’s goal with this strategy is to create as many things as possible and then only continue the shows that get the most attention from audiences. Unfortunately, it often seems like even the best shows are ended despite having significant and engaged audiences. The author concludes the article with a question of whether this phenomenon is an issue for Netflix alone or a new norm in the industry. As of right now, most of the other streaming services I know of are much more focused on creating a smaller amount of content that they continue for longer time periods, so I hope that they do not follow the same route as Netflix. I also believe that this will be a contributing factor to Netflix’s decline, seeing as they are already losing viewers due to their other issues and rising competition in the industry as new streaming platforms rise in popularity.
sophia brown • Mar 1, 2023 at 1:53 pm
On Feburary 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation” The article mentions that in the past year many people’s favorite shows have been cancelled which has caused Netflix to lose subscribers. Many angry fans of these cancelled shows have taken to social media to complain about this issue. The article brings up the argument that many people feel that there is no point in watching shows on Netflix anymore as they might be cancelled after becoming invested in the show. I found this very interesting because I have experienced some of my favorite shows being cancelled without coming to a well executed conclusion. Personally, I get very attached to characters and feel what they are going through so I get very upset when I don’t get to fully see their story through. This makes me wonder why Netflix is making the decision to cancel so many shows. I would think that dedicated fans would continue to watch their favorite shows, making Netflix money, and this would outweigh the cost it would take to make the show. If they keep cancelling popular shows, this will drive out their audience and may lead to the end of Netflix.
Kirk McNagny • Mar 1, 2023 at 1:52 pm
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” The article mentions that many people are canceling their Netflix subscriptions. Prior to the article, I was not aware that Netflix was having financial and subscription problems. I have a few questions, one of which would be what exactly is motivating their decision? Are they truly in a deficit, or are they just making less of a profit than usual? How many shows have they canceled already? What is the rating cut-off for Netflix to cancel a show or movie? How do they choose which shows or movies that they cut from the platform? From my understanding, Netflix had implemented a policy in which they would not allow shared subscriptions, but I did not know that they also increased their prices as well as canceled shows. I appreciate the attention to interviewing people to get others’ opinions on the subject. One thing that I would suggest is adding more specific details concerning the cancellations such as numbers of canceled shows or Netflix’s response to these criticisms. This being said, I felt that the article was well put together and thoughtful with how they mentioned other sources in the article. Thank you for talking about this little known topic.
Adrian Cheong • Mar 1, 2023 at 1:47 pm
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation” The article explains how Netflix is going down a “death spiral”, canceling many shows and originals, despite the resentment from subscribers. Wilson explains that Netflix has been losing a considerable amount of subscribers, possibly due to the end of the pandemic and lockdown resulting in people going back outside and not binge watching shows all day, meaning less people actually have a need for a Netflix subscription. This loss caused a cut into many shows that were on Netflix, which created more loss in subscribers because of the dissatisfaction of the choice of shows. My concern is that if enough people keep unsubscribing to Netflix, will it have a major impact on the actual streaming service and its quality? I hope that this spiral is stopped or at least slowed, along with other streaming services like Disney+ or Hulu even, because I enjoy watching some of the shows on them, and it would be devastating if they had a similar turn out like Netflix. I highly doubt Disney+ will fail, because of the huge corporation of Disney and its popularity in media and film. Thank you for discussing such an interesting topic.
Natalia Ramos • Mar 1, 2023 at 1:22 pm
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” In the article, Wilson notes that Netflix continuously cancels its original shows for seemingly no reason. I think that these show cancelations come about because of the extreme popularity of some Netflix originals like, “Stanger Things,” “Ozark,” and “Squid Games.” The popularity of these shows and how their character has become easily recognizable, widely being used as Halloween costumes and as party themes, has compelled Netflix to cancel shows that don’t reach that amount of popularity because that company wants to make shows that are global topics of conversation. Netflix wants to achieve an effect, that is hard to achieve in the digital age we are in, similar to the effect that cable television and weekly episodes produced. This effect was that people would tune into an episode of a show on the same day and at the same time and talk about it the next day, an example of a show that had this effect was “Friends”. “Friends” was a global sensation and it is what Netflix is aiming for when they make their shows. The way that Netflix cancels shows does leave a bad taste in people’s mouths because there are fans of the shows that Netflix is canceling like, “The Society” and “Spinning Out,” these shows are the ones that my friends and I were fans of. Netflix canceling them leaves these stories untold and forces the writers of these shows to move on to other projects without allowing them visual closure because they can finish writing the show, but it just won’t be aired for fans to see. Since Netflix is focused primarily on popularity, instead of consumer gratification, it is reasonable for fans to want to cancel their Netflix subscriptions if they find that there is nothing on the platform enjoyable to them.
Melissa Mejia • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:58 am
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote a piece called “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” As it can be inferred by the title, the article is about how Netflix has been canceling several of their “Netflix Originals.” This has caused outrage among Netflix subscribers. After only a single season, Netflix has canceled many of their successful shows. This has caused many people to end their subscriptions with the company. I am not sure why Netflix continues to do this. The shows that Netflix has ended, such as “The Society,” are loved by several viewers, so I do not see the purpose of abandoning these projects abruptly. The outage is clear among viewers, especially since “Netflix correct your mistake” was trending on Twitter. I have seen similar phrases and hashtags trending as a result of Netflix’s poor actions. Additionally, Netflix has increased their prices, and tried prohibiting password sharing among its users. These two events have led to people ending their subscription. This is definitely not a good business move on Netflix’s part. Hopefully, they make arrangements to change their current situation. Also, I appreciate the multiple opinions included in this article. Overall, I enjoyed this piece and its information. Thank you for informing me about this topic. Great job!
Marley Ponce De Leon • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:43 am
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” The article talks about Netflix canceling many of their original shows and people canceling their subscriptions as a consequence. I resonate with this article because I was upset when they canceled shows like “The Society” and “I Am Not Okay With This.” I agree with the statement made towards the end of the article when it is mentioned that Netflix will continue to see a drop in subscriptions if they keep canceling their shows. I wonder why they continue to take off shows that generate good audience reactions and keep shows that aren’t as good on their platform, also damaging their business by taking off popular non-original shows and movies. I also believe that Netflix doing this just increases the popularity of other streaming platforms such as HBO Max since originals such as shows like “The Last of Us” seem to do very well and it has already been renewed for a second season instead of being canceled after the first one. If Netflix wants to stop seeing a drop in their subscriptions caused by their continuous cancelation of original content and increasing prices, they need to end this pattern and stop canceling the shows that garner positive attention.
Mika Darmawan • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:35 am
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation”. The article mentions how the sensation on Netflix was fading because of the cancellation of many popular shows not over a course of time, but all at once. This caused a huge commotion, with thousands of people protesting about their favorite shows such as “1899”, and “Inside Job”. Prior to reading this article, I knew that Netflix would occasionally remove shows here and there, but never this many at once. From what I knew, the movie industry has been getting more costly each year that passes by. It could be possible that Netflix has been suffering financial losses, but that was certainly a bad move to make. If new shows were added without removing the old ones, that would have been an opportunity to attract more viewers. I do have a few questions that have sprung up while reading your article. Will Netflix re-add these shows after much protesting from millions of viewers? And are new shows being added to replace the void of the old ones? Thank you for writing this article, it was certainly a pleasure to read.
Maya Ng • Mar 1, 2023 at 10:13 am
On February 17, 2023, Rebecca Wilson, wrote the article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation”. The article talks about the ongoing occurrence of many popular Netflix shows getting canceled. This topic has sparked the concern of avid Netflix users. She mentions shows like, “Anne with an E”, “I Am Not Okay With This”, and “Everything Sucks”. Personally, I agree with everyone because the majority of these shows will leave off on a big cliffhanger and it’s just brutal for fans to have to make their best theories as to what happened. However, series like “Anne with an E ” aired a good couple of seasons and left off on a good note. I don’t see much of a problem with “Anne with an E” because it was based on a book, so people can read the rest, but again, some people just aren’t readers. Additionally, some of these shows got canceled because of COVID-19, so it’s pretty understandable. Even if these series made efforts to film during quarantine, they would still receive criticism. One example is Stranger Things. I’ve noticed they received some criticism for risking their health to film. I think this is just a situation that would receive judgment either way. I wonder if any of these series will ever continue filming even if it is a couple of years later.
Ricardo Guzman • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:48 am
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” The article goes on to describe the current cancellation of the show on Netflix. It seems the platform has been recently routinely canceling many of its original shows, which leaves many of its users upset. Personally, I’ve never had one of my favorite Netflix shows canceled, but if I had, I’d be completely distraught. Genuinely, I’ve been fortunate enough to not have the canceled season effect myself, but with the increased prices Wilson mentioned, I’d be debating whether or not to continue my membership. However, the question remains, why have they been canceling these shows? Wilson adequately mentions a cause before pondering the question herself; it is due to their loss of subscribers? And if so, will the cycle simply continue to repeat itself? If subscribers are lost, then shows may be canceled, and if shows are canceled, subscribers will be lost. Nonetheless, WIlson’s use of a variety of sources helps get the intention of the story across. The future of Netflix may be uncertain, especially with other competing platforms on the rise. Nevertheless, the article by Wilson had been straightforward, short, and well-written. Thank you for writing this article.
Bennett • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:28 pm
On February 17, 2023, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article called “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation”. This article is mainly to due with the cancellation of many Netflix shows after only a very short run. This has always happened, but specifically as of late it has been becoming more and more frequent. Canceling the show after only a season or two, or any time before the story has come to its proper conclusion can be very off putting to fans and subscribers. I particularly remember when they canceled a show called “Daybreak” that I was a huge fan of after only one season. On top of this the season had ended on a bit of a cliffhanger that left plenty of room for a potentially amazing next season. The article goes on to say that a probable cause for the cancellations is because of the loss of subscribers that Netflix has experienced in the past year. This however, will only lead to more losses if they continue to cancel fan favorite shows. They may feel that they are saving money by canceling the show, but they more likely than not are actually alienating their viewership even further. With the exception of HBO Max, Netflix probably has the best original series in the streaming industry today, so I don’t see them missing out on too much, but they should certainly be careful canceling shows that are beloved by many.
Andrew Mena • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:09 pm
In the article, Rebecca criticizes the former king of streaming services for their recent lack of commitment to their original content, and canceling shows in the middle of their stories being told, causing massive outrage among fans. Many of these shows’ longtime viewers were quick to log onto social media to express their disdain, with countless posts/tweets made by subscribers criticizing Netflix for canceling shows that they considerably enjoyed and couldn’t wait to see more, only for it to be canceled as early as the first season. They even went as far as to resurface a tweet that the company had made regarding their production style, stating that “We don’t like leaving a story unfinished”, which is now quite ironic. This outrage has even sparked many users to actually cancel their subscription to the streaming service, resulting in their first loss of subscribers for the first time ever in April of 2022. In addition, something that Rebecca leaves out that I also remember reading is that there was recently huge backlash from the public after Netflix announced that they were going to implement a anti-password sharing measure to prevent subscribers from allowing others to use their subscription for free, which results in the company making less than its already billions of dollars a year. Although it is understandable for users to get upset with the service for pulling production on shows that they may really enjoyed, there more to their reason why other than that they just wanted to. Like almost all businesses, the goal is to make money, and Netflix does so by providing subscribers with dozens of categories of films and racking up views through each show’s popularity. If the company decides to create an original show for viewers but sees that it is not performing well in popularity, they are likely to halt production and focus on other projects that are sure to grab more attention. There may be some shows that gather a couple thousand viewers, including yourself, however considering Netflix’s absolutely colossal amount of viewers, this margin of people watching a show they created seems drastically smaller than most consider, and is therefore also deemed not very profitable. Of course, this still doesn’t justify the company’s tendency to abruptly stop the show during its development, as the least they can do is end the show using a finale or resolving most of the plot before they stop producing episodes, even if it may not be up to par as what they had hoped. This just goes to show that studios such as these are losing their magic, which involves the team’s love for the art of film making instead of the profit that derives from it. Huge thanks to Rebecca Wilson for addressing the recent downfall of this once revolutionary service.
Claire Wilson • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:01 pm
This article really caught my attention. Like so many others I have lost some of my favorite shows to Netflix’s cancellations. Personally, I think that Netflix is currently in a downward spiral that started with them producing too many shows. Instead of continuing the shows that they had, they canceled good shows to make new, bad, ones. When people’s favorite shows are canceled, they unsubscribe because they don’t like the new, cheap, shows. These unsubscriptions cause Netflix to lose money and force them to cancel more actual good shows. The cycle just keeps continuing. These cancellations also cause a fault in the creative process. For example, “Anne with an E” is based on the “Anne of Green Gables” book series. When they canceled popular shows like this, they were forced to make creative decisions that affected the entire outcome of the story. The show ended up being completely different from the book as a result. The ending wasn’t necessarily bad, but it felt cheap compared to the original story. Many fans were upset because of this and unsubscribed, causing Netflix to lose more money and ruin more stories with blunt endings.
Kaitlyn Rollo • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:01 pm
On February 17th, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation” The article brings attention to Netflix canceling many shows as of late. Wilson starts off by talking about the shows “including “1899”, “Warrior Nun”, “Inside Job”, and “First Kill”.” were all canceled by Netflix recently. She then talks about how Netflix lost many of its users due to this along with some other factors. She does a great job explaining what is going on with Netflix. She elaborates on how it is not just Netflix doing this but other streaming services too. Overall, her explanation was very clear and gets the point across perfectly. I love how Wilson then goes on to talk about how these dropping numbers of users are also due to the price increase. She does it beautifully and is doing amazing at getting her point across. I appreciate that she got many different people’s perspectives and views on what Netflix is doing rather than just stating facts. I wish that the exact number or an estimate of how many shows were canceled would be in the article. However, I liked that she talked about the names and gave examples of shows being canceled more.
Angie Del Gaudio • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:41 am
Dear Corydon Editor,
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation”. The article references many Netflix original series that have been produced over the years, and then suddenly canceled after one or two seasons, leaving fans in a frenzy wondering why they would cancel my favorite show? I have to admit, I am a big Netflix watcher! I enjoy getting lost in a good show and connecting with the characters, the same way others may get into a book. I have not personally had my favorite Netflix show canceled after one season, but I can only imagine how upset I would be if all of the sudden there was no ending or closure to my favorite story. Fans who felt this way certainly did not stay quiet. They not only expressed their complaints to Netflix, but took to the public stage on Twitter where tweets gained traction, and rightfully so. Netflix viewers should be able to voice their opinion, as well as Millikan students. You did a wonderful job hearing the opinions of others on campus and including the shows they still think about to this day. I look forward to watching one season of other students’ favorite shows that you included in the article. Thank you for writing this article and bringing Netflix cancellations to my attention. Next time I am on the site I will keep my eye out for shows that are no longer being continued on the streaming platform.
Chazz Brown • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:35 am
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” This article mentions how Netflix users are fed up with how Netflix is canceling its shows and causing many users to unsubscribe. Personally, I feel this has only happened to me once or twice but it sucks because the series will typically leave on a cliffhanger. I liked how Wilson included the use of evidence within her article to show how this has affected my fellow peers. I also have seen people talk about this issue on tik tok and other social media platforms. I wonder why Netflix does this because it doesn’t seem to be benefitting them. Netflix needs to fix this and stop leaving stories unfinished and questions unanswered. I remember I watched Julie and the Phantoms a while ago and I really liked it and I remember waiting to see if there was going to be a second season but it never happened. During that period of time, Netflix made an announcement about another show I think it was about the Hype House. I specifically remember seeing a tik tok saying they are canceling Julie and the Phantoms so they can have the Hype House. It made me so mad because everyone who had watched Julie and the Phantoms was being left on a cliffhanger. This needs to be talked about more so thank you for writing this article.
Adora Vinhnee • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:13 am
The article goes into detail on how Netflix has continued to cancel many of its original series after the first season. As an avid movie/television show enthusiast, this story title caught my attention since I, too, have been upset over various shows being canceled. This includes “The Society” and “Grand Army.” Even worse, as Wilson mentioned, Netflix has increased its subscription prices at all tiers. What surprised me the most was that many individuals have begun canceling their subscriptions and have most likely turned to different streaming platforms such as HBO Max or Hulu because of this. One must wonder about the reasons for these decisions made by the Netflix team, whether it is due to a lack of streams or a strategic new type of business we cannot begin to understand. Wilson does a great job of hooking readers into her article, but also keeping it short and to the point. Learning about the Twitter threads going around was especially interesting because most people know how influential and controversial tweets can be. The “Netflix correct your mistake” on the trending tab goes to show just how adamant viewers are about what they watch. Netflix should be catering to the fans and listening to their desires if they want to continue growing their business. We are their source of income. Without streamers, Netflix may face a devastating loss. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article and Wilson’s writing style.
Madalena Gonzalez • Feb 28, 2023 at 10:46 am
On February 17, Rebecca Wilson wrote an article titled “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” The article goes on to explain how Netflix continues to cancel many enjoyed tv series. Netflix continues to cancel tv series that many people enjoy watching but then keeps tv series that people hate. Netflix can argue that the tv series didn’t have enough views, but the way people reacted toward it being canceled shows how popular it was. There are so many petitions of people trying to fight for certain series to come back, but they never do. It makes us wonder why they’re doing this. It makes us wonder what is wrong with Netflix. They continue to cancel popular shows, but they’re also trying to stop password sharing. What good does this bring them? What are their motives for doing this? It is also the fact that they are also removing popular series from their platform. If they keep on canceling and removing all these popular series, there would be nothing good left to watch. Soon more people will start to cancel their subscriptions to Netflix. Hopefully, Netflix starts to fix these issues and stop popular series from getting canceled because, at this point, they can’t argue about views on the series. Thank you for writing this article.
Faith Vergara • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:12 pm
On February 17, Wilson wrote about the article “The Netflix Cancellation Sensation.” The article expresses its confusion and discernment about how Netflix began to cancel some of their original shows leading to its first reported subscriber loss. Wilson also mentions how Netflix began to raise their prices for subscription tiers and how many people have expressed their disappointment through social media. As someone who frequently watches netflix originals and many other series. If a show I enjoy and binge watch gets canceled before the finishing of the season it would be frustrating. Wilson explained well how this situation could potentially cause Netflix to lose money and their users to start using other Apps like Hulu or Disney+. She highlighted the user’s frustration by including quotes from online Twitter posts and a quote from Phiri. I liked how the writer then goes on to ask the reader its own personal opinion on the matter. “Are these cancellations signs of bad news for the service? Or a new type of business as usual for the streaming world?” Considering that many families have just resorted to only using Netflix rather than paying for cable, this could be considered a major issue especially with Netflix’s price increase. It brings up questions like, Is this a marketing strategy? If lower income users end their subscriptions, how many users will they lose? Is there an estimate of the amount of subscribers lost? Was it a rumor or did Netflix send a statement? Thank you for shedding light on this topic.
Sincerely,
Faith Vergara, Grade 11
Bhree Walker • Feb 28, 2023 at 10:01 am
The article talks about how many people are thinking of canceling their subscriptions to Netflix. This is because Netflix keeps canceling shows that people are into. I don’t know why they do this, but I can see why people would end their subscriptions. Why use Netflix if all your favorite shows are being canceled? Pretty soon there will be nothing to watch. I didn’t realize so many shows were being canceled because I mainly watch movies, but I can relate to the people who are missing their shows. Last year, the day before Halloween, they took off two of my favorite shows, “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation”, from the streaming service. I wonder why Netflix is taking off all these shows. Maybe it’s because the shows aren’t popular enough? Do you know? Maybe there are certain guidelines a show has to follow. More importantly, won’t unsubscriptions make the problem worse? If Netflix loses subscribers then they lose money. If Netflix loses money then it won’t be able to have many more original series. I don’t know if it works like that though. I do think Twitter and using your voice on social media is a good way to get opinions out about the problem. Thank you for writing this article.
Sincerely,
Bhree Walker, Grade 11